Celebrity News: December ’14/January ’15

Colin Farrell Opens Up About Gay Brother, in Open Letter to His Native Ireland

In an open letter published in Ireland’s Sunday World magazine, Colin Farrell spoke out in defense of same-sex marriage in his native Ireland. Farrell speaks fondly of his brother Eamon, describing him as “always proud…defiant and, of course, provocative,” to which he adds, “only love in action can stamp out the wilting toxicity of the intolerant among us.”

He goes on to say that the “referendum [on same sex marriage rights] is a chance for us to arise. To wake up to the conviction tha true love from the heart of one being to another cares not for the colour, nor the creed, nor the gender of who it choses to share that path with.”

Ireland is said to be holding its referendum on same-sex marriage in May 2015.

Midler, 68, says it “never occurred” to her not to stand up on behalf of the community, she had “been in theater for a long time…and [had] always known gay people and they were just…ordinary friends.” The singer-actress tells aspiring drag queens to start with “a really good pair of shoes” and “a serious undergarment,” but notes, “if your panties fall down all around your feet… keep on singing.”

She herself has been called a drag queen and finds it to be a ‘supreme compliment.’